Tyrese Maxey

[Klomp]

Many of the guys who are regularly projected near the top of the lottery scare the crap out of me, for various reasons. I'm not even sure there's a full handful of guys currently projected in the lottery that I'd be excited to see on my team.

This is gonna be a wacky draft. I think there's gonna be a lot of picks on draft night that people will see as head scratchers at the time but wind up good picks, while big names will slide down the board on draft night and we'll wonder what teams aren't seeing. Most anyone in this class is going to need time to develop parts of their game, so I think more than anything this draft will be about projecting that development out.

One guy I'm falling in love with as a prospect is Tyrese Maxey. I consistently see him mocked late lotto, but I don't think there's even a handful of prospects I'd take over him personally. I'm not saying he's a perfect prospect, but I actually think he has a chance to be the best player from this class.

I think a large chunk of the skepticism has to do with a combination of his size and 3-point shooting. And if I envisioned him exclusively as a SG a la Malik Beasley, I probably would be sharing that skepticism. If a team is drafting an undersized "shooter" who is shooting 28%, yeah that would be concerning.

But I don't believe that's what you're getting with Maxey. You're getting a combo guard. You're getting an attacker who can get to the rim. You're getting someone who can play PG in spurts. You're getting a competitive defender.

I've seen a Donovan Mitchell comp for him, and I think that is really interesting in terms of play style. Mitchell shot 25% from 3-point range as a freshman. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe he underwent a shot form overhaul. He improved as a freshman, but still only shot 35%. Mitchell has never been an elite 3-point shooter at the NBA level, but it's not a liability or a detriment to his overall impact. I don't believe Maxey's shot really needs work either, despite the low percentages.

Like Mitchell, Maxey can and likely will spend time at both guard positions at the next level. He probably won't ever be a "true" PG a la Ricky Rubio, but that wouldn't be his role on most teams. Guards seem to make a bigger immediate impact than forwards or centers, especially when talking about a class that probably lacks truly elite talent.

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[HeadtopChunes]

I have him as my #3 guard right now and probably should be top 5 pick.

IMO he's got the tools to be a pretty good NBA scorer from all 3 levels, he's already a great finisher and while the shooting results haven't been great yet, I think the pull-up shooting will come. His other knock is that he's not a great passer which is true but I think he's a good decision-maker most of the time and will bring value with the ball in his hands on top of his scoring.

His biggest strength is that he's a very good driver and finisher already. I also think his handle getting better will unlock a lot more on-ball stuff for him in time, he doesn't have a bad handle but not good enough for a primary creator at the moment especially on a heavy PnR team.

Also, his versatility can also give you a lot of options in terms of lineups. He should also be a positive defender across 3 positions w/ his frame+strength. He should be able to play 1-3 in any lineup and can play both on and off the ball.

[clyde21]

#3 overall on my board, but I've been both really high and really low on him, I just wish he was a better passer/decision maker sometimes, he takes stupid shots a lot, doesn't really know how to manage possessions yet, right now to me projects as a really good 6th man but if he can get better as a playmaker i see him as a legit starter as a combo guard

[getrichordie]

I’ve heard Vinnie Johnson as a comp for him at that is a solid comp. I think his absolute ceiling is a starting scoring guard if he can expand his dribble package and hit a three.

His most likely outcome is a really good two-way guard coming off the bench as a 6th man where he will excel in transition, knock down 3s off the dribble and attack close outs and finish using floaters.

[Klomp]

I have him as my #3 guard right now and probably should be top 5 pick.

#3 overall on my board

These surprise me a little, but I like it. Was starting to feel like most were projecting him late lotto.

[Klomp]

I’ve heard Vinnie Johnson as a comp for him at that is a solid comp. I think his absolute ceiling is a starting scoring guard if he can expand his dribble package and hit a three.

Give me a current-day comp for that description, so we have a better idea of what tier you'd place him in if he hit his absolute ceiling.

[Klomp]

In some ways I see him like a Lou Williams, but bigger, stronger and a better defender

[RiotPunch]

I see him as kind of a bigger, at times more graceful version of Lowry. Three level scorer potential with nice touch and great strength/balance. Underrated defender, he is always active on and off ball. He's firmly in my Top-5 as well as many on here. He's got arguably the highest floor and maintains one of the higher ceilings as well, with a better bet to reach that ceiling than the likes of Edwards/LaMelo, IMO.

[getrichordie]

I’ve heard Vinnie Johnson as a comp for him at that is a solid comp. I think his absolute ceiling is a starting scoring guard if he can expand his dribble package and hit a three.

Give me a current-day comp for that description, so we have a better idea of what tier you'd place him in if he hit his absolute ceiling.

Just go look at some Vinnie Johnson highlights are look up his stats. He was like a stronger Lou Williams. Microwave scorer off the bench. That’s his ceiling. A bigger, more athletic Lou Will with better defense. That’s probably the closest comp in current NBA.

[RiotPunch]

I’ve heard Vinnie Johnson as a comp for him at that is a solid comp. I think his absolute ceiling is a starting scoring guard if he can expand his dribble package and hit a three.

Give me a current-day comp for that description, so we have a better idea of what tier you'd place him in if he hit his absolute ceiling.

Just go look at some Vinnie Johnson highlights are look up his stats. He was like a stronger Lou Williams. Microwave scorer off the bench. That’s his ceiling. A bigger, more athletic Lou Will with better defense. That’s probably the closest comp in current NBA.

Terrible comp in terms of hairstyles.

[TB]

I haven't seen a ton of Maxey, so i'd love to understand why someone like Ramsey is so much lower in mocks than him.

From highlights, Maxey looks a bit more athletic/quick attacking the hoop. But at the same time Ramsey is a much better scorer from 3.

I wish they had a good head-to-head to answer this, but they both played terrible in that game lol.

[CoreyVillains]

Just dropped a 17 minute breakdown on Tyrese Maxey on my YouTube that you can watch below. I really like Maxey as a prospect. His shot is easily correctable as he just needs to raise his release point. He’s a brilliant finisher at the rim and he’s got so much craft to his game. Defensively I think he’ll be a stud. I think he’s gonna be another Kentucky guard that ends up showing more in the pros. Totally see the Kyle Lowry/Jrue Holiday upside out of him.

Watch on YouTube

[getrichordie]

I haven't seen a ton of Maxey, so i'd love to understand why someone like Ramsey is so much lower in mocks than him.

From highlights, Maxey looks a bit more athletic/quick attacking the hoop. But at the same time Ramsey is a much better scorer from 3.

I wish they had a good head-to-head to answer this, but they both played terrible in that game lol.

Maxey has the athleticism and tools to shut down 1s if he wants to. On offense he has a more versatile repertoire than Ramsey does and is comfortable using his right or left hand when driving to the hole and he has an elite floater gamer.

Ramsey is more of a discount Hield and that may be too much praise. His FT numbers are concerning and he doesn’t have great size for the 2, which is where he would play, and has 0 combo-guard potential.

[pcbothwel]

I haven't seen a ton of Maxey, so i'd love to understand why someone like Ramsey is so much lower in mocks than him.

From highlights, Maxey looks a bit more athletic/quick attacking the hoop. But at the same time Ramsey is a much better scorer from 3.

I wish they had a good head-to-head to answer this, but they both played terrible in that game lol.

Maxey has the athleticism and tools to shut down 1s if he wants to. On offense he has a more versatile repertoire than Ramsey does and is comfortable using his right or left hand when driving to the hole and he has an elite floater gamer.

Ramsey is more of a discount Hield and that may be too much praise. His FT numbers are concerning and he doesn’t have great size for the 2, which is where he would play, and has 0 combo-guard potential.

Agreed. i love Maxey and think Ramsey is really overrated. That FT% scares me to death.

[babyjax13]

I’ve heard Vinnie Johnson as a comp for him at that is a solid comp. I think his absolute ceiling is a starting scoring guard if he can expand his dribble package and hit a three.

Give me a current-day comp for that description, so we have a better idea of what tier you'd place him in if he hit his absolute ceiling.

Barbosa?

[Klomp]

Totally see the Kyle Lowry/Jrue Holiday upside out of him.

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Holiday is a very interesting comp to me, more fitting than Lowry imo.

[Klomp]

I’ve heard Vinnie Johnson as a comp for him at that is a solid comp. I think his absolute ceiling is a starting scoring guard if he can expand his dribble package and hit a three.

Give me a current-day comp for that description, so we have a better idea of what tier you'd place him in if he hit his absolute ceiling.

Barbosa?

Not bad. Maybe I'm misremembering his peak, but I feel like Barbosa was a tier below someone like Lou Williams, another possible comp I've thought of. I've also gotten some Donovan Mitchell vibes from him.

[CoreyVillains]

Totally see the Kyle Lowry/Jrue Holiday upside out of him.

Watch on YouTube

Holiday is a very interesting comp to me, more fitting than Lowry imo.

Agreed. I think the total body strength and the way he moves is pretty similar.

[Upperclass]

Best player in the draft potential.. something about him

[clyde21]

should be top 5 on everyone's lists at least, a top tier 6th man is his baseline, good chance he's a lot better than that too

a really good combo guard who isn't a negative defensively is highly valuable